One of the things we do at our group meetings is practice "what if?". I thank American Trucker for the idea for this blog. Since I talk in this blog mainly about food prep's, let's do a "what if" with food.
What IF a storm hits and I can't get to the store for 4-5 days? This is THE most common event you can prepare for. There is no guessing involved, every single person in every single state is subject to the weather.
-Do you have 5 days worth of food for your entire family? Are the members of your household the only people who will be at your home? Do you have extra in case others arrive?
-Do you have a heating and cooking source for that food? Power goes out frequently in storms and you will need a way to cook. Even a gas oven won't work if it's modern. Your cook top will if it's not electric. Will your pots and pans work on a wood stove or grill?
-Do you have water for cooking, cleaning, drinking and flushing? Often, the water system will go out during a power outage. In our case, the water pump goes out. In cities, it might be your buildings water system.
All of these questions should, of course, be asked and the solutions addressed well BEFORE an event! That is the meaning of preparedness. In our home, food is no problem as I learned last winter when power was out for 14 days. Water was no issue, as I had plenty of bottles filled for drinking and cooking, but I also filled the bathtub up for flushing water before the storm. A heating source was there with our wood stove, but IF that hadn't been the case, I would have been in big trouble. I couldn't get out and could never have walked to a hotel. I would have been at the mercy of my neighbors and hope that they had food enough. Now, we have a generator, just in case.
Cooking would have been the biggest issue before long, because though my grill worked fine, it was covered in 3 inches of ice. My gas cook top worked fine, but if I had many more than just me to feed, it would have been a bit awkward. Awkward I can handle, but still it got me thinking. I am slowly investing in cast iron cookware (at least a dutch oven and skillet) that I can use on the wood stove, the grill or even an open fire if needed. Most cookware isn't good for cooking on an alternate cooking source as they can't take so much direct heat, the handles melt or get too hot and the coatings can actually come off.
So, ask that question, look in your cupboards, knowing that you won't be using your oven, and see if you are set for even a week. Do a test run without running water. Make a list of what your plan is and get anything needed that will help you out.
You can never be too prepared! I just dealt here with the basics and only as it concerns food, there is much more. As always, I encourage you to comment and add to this conversation.
Our Happy Homestead
2 hours ago
4 comments:
Nice post, HP. We are fans of charcoal grilling/cooking, so charcoal, hardwood & lighter fluid are among our "food preps."
Your post got me thinking about something else... another part of the what if scenario. I don't think it hurts to ritualize preparing for weather-related problems. Here's what I mean. Say you know a storm is coming. You're prepared in terms of food stores, etc. But what do you *do* in the days-hours-minutes before the storm hits? Do you have a list of critical things that need to get done, like fill the tub & washer with water, bring the grill into the garage (your point about ice), etc. Does each family member have specific tasks?
Thanks, HP. Thinking about this has been helpful!
Good idea. If we include all the family and they have a task, they take ownership of preparedness. It becomes a habit for all involved. Kids and people in general, like having something to do that has a purpose. They can then see the results of their efforts, reinforcing that whole process.
Great post.
Excellent way to think of it. One can apply this process to all your prep avenues; heat, clothing, laundry, sanitation, etc.
I have a gripe about you're saying you won't be baking, though. Why not? Aren't you prepared to bake in an emergency? Who even wants to spend 10 days sequestered inside with 40 inches of snow outside and have no cinnamon roll? No hot bread? No muffins? Eeewww. LOL C'mon, think what you need to bake and do that. Brick oven? Camp oven? The choices are endless and fun to experiment to find what's right for you.
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